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Introduction to Laser Safety

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Introduction to Laser Safety Introduction to Laser Safety Frank Balzer Alsion, March 2014 International Norms and Standards for Laser Safety • to ensure a safe use of machinery and to protect operators against hazards • EN 60825 (IEC 825): „Safety of Laser Products“ • main international standard for laser safety • describes the effect of laser radiation on the eye/skin • defines thresholds • definition of safety classes • labeling, engineering specifications, safety precautions, maximum permissible exposure (MPE) • Lasers and LEDs • ANSI Z136 series, EN 207/208: Laser Safety Eyewear http://www.lucidos.co.uk/lasersafety/lsstandards.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Laser_goggles_en207.jpg 27.05.2014 11:39 27.05.2014 11:39 Management Responsibility for Laser Safety Some Laser Safety Officers (LSO) duties: • safety program • classification • hazard evaluation, control measures, protective equipment, signs and labels … • equipment • audits, surveys, inspections • approval of class 3B or class 4 laser for operation Management has the fundamental responsibility to ensure the safe use of lasers owned and/or operated in facilities under its control; therefore, it is the employer that establishes and maintains adequate policies and programs for the control of laser hazards, and these policies and programs are generally delegated down to the appointed laser safety officer (LSO). The laser safety policy needs to be integrated into the organization’s overall safety plan or procedure manual and needs to be reviewed at a specific interval, no less frequently than once every two years. The LSO must have authority and support of management for a successful program. K. Barat, Laser Safety in the Lab 27.05.2014 11:39 Are Lasers Dangerous? Laser Type % victim % Nd:YAG 29,7 technicians 21,3 Argon 20,5 scientists 17,6 CO2 12,8 patients 12,9 dye 9,9 plant workers 10,7 HeNe 7,0 medical personnel 9,2 others 20,1 students 8,4 spectators 4,8 others 15,1 source: Rockwell Laser Incident Database, www.rli.com 7974 registered accidents between 1964 and 2010, (395 accidents until 1999) 27.05.2014 11:39 Laser Hazards • primary sites of damage: eye, skin 27.05.2014 11:39 Danger of Laser Radiation • powerful laser radiation is dangerous, mainly for eyes and skin • examples of accidents: retina of eye: burns of skin: Ar ion laser 27.05.2014 11:39 Examples for from the Laser Accident Database Case: 5326 , Year: 1977 , Country: USA "Relatively weak" Nd:YAG laser was being aligned when portion of beam from system optics went into eye. He heard a popping sound. Interocular bleeding and particles observed. Some pain followed by condition of shock. Partial blindness resulted. 27.05.2014 11:39 More Examples from the Laser Accident Database Case: 7961, Year: 2010, Country: Switzerland 15-year-old Swiss boy purchased a handheld laser online as a "toy". He ended up damaging his retinas … while trying to create a "laser show." His vision was so reduced he could not even read a news paper. He had a hemorrhage in his left eye and scarring in his right. Vision in his left eye improved from 40% to 80% after treatment. Case: 6658, Year: 2005, Country: USA Subject standing on the second floor of an apartment building pointed a laser device at deputies and continued to track them during their investigation. One of the deputies became concerned they were being targeted by a laser-sighted weapon asked the man to show his hand. The man refused that request and made a sudden movement which the deputy believe was of imminent hazard. The deputy then fired a shotgun at the man, which struck him in the chest killing him. No gun or laser was found near the body, but an inspection of the apartment revealed the presence of three handguns and three laser devices, including a gun-mounted device. Case: 5643, Year: 1988, Country: United Kingdom Student accidentally viewed stray reflection from argon laser used on an optical bench. A senior researcher received peripheral retinal damage. Shrouding was inadequate to limit reflections. 27.05.2014 11:39 Laser Basics • „ Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation“ • properties • monochromatic • coherent • small divergence • modes of operation • continuous wave (cw) • pulsed • laser medium • gas • dye • solid • semiconductor http://www.nmm.ac.uk/rog/2009/01/ 27.05.2014 11:39 Electromagnetic Radiation Spectrum • lasers: UV – IR, 180 nm – 1000 µm laser radiation can be partly or completely invisible can pretend false safety 27.05.2014 11:39 Exposure Types 1. intrabeam exposure 2. specular reflection 3. diffuse reflection reflection plane surface reflection curved surface diffuse reflection much less dangerous 27.05.2014 11:39 Laser Types • gas (Helium-Neon Laser) • dye • solid state (Nd:YAG, Ti:Sapphire) • diode 27.05.2014 11:39 Laser Types in the Optics Lab Ar ion laser Excimer laser Diode laser KGWO4 laser 27.05.2014 11:39 Laser Types in the Optics Lab Ar ion laser IR diode laser, HeNe-Laser 27.05.2014 11:39 Laser Types in the AFM Lab 20 mW diode laser 532 nm 27.05.2014 11:39 Laser Pointers laser pointers various wavelengths, up to 1000 mW significant potential for eye injury! 27.05.2014 11:39 Quantifying Light: Power and Energy • Watt: unit of radiant power ( = rate of flow of energy) • Joule: unit of radiant energy • Example: laser beam of 3 Watts, emitted for ten seconds, generates a total energy during this time of 30 Joules • emission of continuous wave different peak power, (cw) lasers: power P (Watts) equal energy • emission of pulsed lasers: energy Q (Joule) of each pulse 27.05.2014 11:39 Quantifying Light: Pulse Duration and Peak Power average power • example: Excimer laser • typical pulse duration of tpulse = 20 ns • pulse energy: Qpulse = 200 mJ peak power Ppeak = 10 MW • for a repetition rate of 100 Hz: average power Paver = 20 W • pulsed lasers can emit very high peak powers of several TW highly hazardous • eye: averaging, looks like being low power considerable hazard 27.05.2014 11:39 Quantifying Light: Irradiance • interaction of laser light with material: irradiance unit: W/cm2 unit: J/cm2 27.05.2014 11:39 Lamp vs. Laser conventional lamp: extended source smallest patch of light that can be created by focusing is the geometric image of the source laser: point source output can be focused by a lens to create a point image low divergence and therefore excellent focusability of laser radiation can cause high irradiances, even in large distances 27.05.2014 11:39 Irradiance • lamp: 1 W at a distance of 1 m: 6 µW • laser: 1 W at a distance of 1 m: 1 W • lamp, 1 W, at a distance of 1 m diameter on retina: 100 µm irradiance: 0.1 W/cm2 • sun: diameter on retina: 0.35 mm irradiance: 6 – 100 W/cm2 • laser beam, 1 W diameter on retina :10 µm irradiance: > 1 MW/cm2 • hotplate: 3 W/cm2 Never stare into a laser beam! 27.05.2014 11:39 Never stare into a laser beam! Virtually any laser is more dangerous than any other natural or artificial light source! 1 W laser ) 2 1 mW laser 20 kW Xe arclamp welding arc sun tungsten light filament - hazard blue daylight fluorescent candle tube irradiance at the retina (W/m image size at the retina 27.05.2014 11:39 Effects of Laser Radiation on Biological Tissue • three different interaction processes: • photochemical reactions (creation of radicals, direct damage to DNA, …) • thermal interaction: heating coagulation, vaporization • thermomechanical: • photoablation: spontaneous removal of tissue • disruption: ionization of tissue, extremely high temperatures and pressures • effect depends upon the • irradiance of light • its wavelength • interaction time • penetration depth 27.05.2014 11:39 Hazards: Skin • UV-C (280 nm – 100 nm): skin aging, skin cancer • UV-B (280 nm – 315 nm): erythema, enhances the hazard for cancer • UV-A (315 nm – 400 nm): hyperpigmentation • photosensitive reactions • skin burn • low-intensity IR irradiation: dilate blood capillaries, leading to inflammation erythema skin burn Beware: accumulating effects from long-time exposure! 27.05.2014 11:39 Hazards: Eye laser beam damage can be • thermal burns • thermomechanical, acoustic shock • high-intensity short-pulse lasers: sudden vaporization of tissue which then causes a shock wave to spread, tearing other tissues in the eye • photochemical reactions • cause cloudiness in the eye tissue • result in a loss of light sensitivity 27.05.2014 11:39 Hazards: Eye • UVC: absorption in the cornea, photoconjunctivitis • UVB: photokeratitis (kindling of the cornea) • UVA: absorption in the lens, photochemical cataract • VIS: high danger especially for the retina, photochemical resp. thermal effect advantage: eyelid-closing-reflex (< 0.25 s for healthy humans) • IRA: dangerous, radiation penetrates to the retina, but is not recognized no eyelid-closing reflex, cataract • IRB: absorption mainly in the front part of the eyeball, thermal damage • IRC: absorption in the cornea, thermal damage 27.05.2014 11:39 Example: Exposures to the Eye • exposure to a visible laser beam can be detected by • a bright color flash of the emitted wavelength and an afterimage of its complementary color • example: a green, 532 nm laser would produce a green flash followed by a red afterimage • when the retina is affected, there may be difficulty in detecting blue or green colors (secondary to cone damage), and pigmentation of the retina may be detected • exposure to an invisible Q-switched Nd:YAG laser beam (1064 nm) • may initially go undetected because the beam is invisible, retina lacks pain sensory nerves • photoacoustic retinal damage may be associated with an audible “pop” at the time of exposure • visual disorientation due to retinal damage may not be apparent to the operator until considerable thermal damage has occurred 27.05.2014 11:39 Example • work accident, both eyes were involved • 25 m distance, ruby laser (694 nm), pulse: 20 ns, 20 mJ (1 MW laser power) • personal perception: black spot, declining strength of sight • 5 days after the accident: blood bubble (diameter approx.
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